I will protect you Always
by Sharingan300
Summary: Naruten Tenten had always been in love with Neji. But after the Chuunin Exam and a chance encounter with a certain blonde Genin, she is not so sure about her feelings anymore.
1. A date, a fight, and a lovely night!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

I will always protect you... Always

* * *

(Damn him! He is late again!) 

A brown haired young girl was leaning against one of the poles in the training  
grounds. Her hair was down and she was dressed in a pink shirt and marine  
blue pants. Her chocolate coloured eyes darted back and forth in search of  
someone. She was twirling a kunai between her fingers in one hand, while doing  
the same with a shuriken in the other. Then, she caught sight of an approaching  
person.  
She frowned slightly and smiled playfully.  
A blonde boy came running along the road, looking very stressed.  
The girl smiled and put away her weapons as the boy reached her.

"You´re late Naruto... Again." The girl stated.

Naruto took a second or two to regain his breath.

"I´m sorry, Tenten! Well you see, a black cat crossed my path, so I had to  
find another one... And that,"

Tenten shook her head.

"I think you need to take some time off from missions Naruto. You´ve clearly spent  
too much time together with Kakashi-kun. First of all, you´re late. And two, you  
have a VERY lame excuse for it." Tenten said.

Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head. Tenten found this very  
cute, and kind of attractive in some way.

"I guess so..." Naruto admitted.

Tenten smiled. She then walked up to the blonde boy and slid her arms around  
him. Naruto put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. They shared a  
loving kiss. When they parted, they both had slightly red cheeks. Naruto smiled  
and kissed her forehead. He almost couldn't believe that he had almost chosen  
Sakura over Tenten. That just proved what a fool he had been back then.

"I´ve missed you, Tenten. I really have." Naruto stated.

Tenten snuggled up to him and nodded.

"I´ve missed you too, Naruto-kun." Tenten said.

Tenten smiled as she drew lazy circles on Naruto´s back. (I still can´t believe that  
I almost chose Neji instead of Naruto-kun. It wasn´t untill after the Chuunin Exam  
that I started to rethink my feelings for him... But what really changed my opinion  
about him…) Tenten closed her eyes and a memory surfaced.

* * *

"Flashback" 

Tenten collapsed onto her knees, panting hard. She raised her hand above her head.  
This gesture was the agreed sign for giving up between them.  
But somehow, Neji misunderstood this. He charged forward, reading his right hand  
with his palm forward.  
Tenten was expecting to see Neji calmly walking towards her, but instead, she saw  
him running towards her. He was fully prepared to strike another blow.  
(He didn´t see the "give up" sign? This is bad!) Tenten thought quickly. She tried to  
stand, but her legs wouldn´t support her weight. She collapsed back onto the ground.  
Tenten realised that with the current angle of Neji´s hand, she was going to get hit in  
the center of her chest. Tenten´s eyes widened in horror. (If Neji hits me in the center  
of my chest, then I´ll end up just like Hinata!) Tenten thought in panic. She tried to  
yell "Stop!"  
But her lips wouldn´t move.  
Neji came within 5 meters from her with no sign of stopping.  
Tenten closed her eyes and raised her arms to take the hit. (This is going to hurt...!)  
Tenten thought. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and shut out all the other sounds  
around her. She shut her eyes tight and expected to feel pain.  
But there wasn´t any.  
Tenten waited one second, two, three... Then she opened her eyes slowly. They widened  
at the sight before her.  
Neji was standing about 2 meters from her, his palm was pressing against orange  
fabric. He had a look of surprise on his face. And for a good reason. Standing 1 meter  
from Tenten, was a blonde boy. He was pressing his arm against Neji´s palm.  
Tenten just stared. Her mouth fell open in surprise and shock. (N, Naruto-kun? W, where did  
he come from? W, why is he here?) Tenten wondered.  
Then her brain finally registered the position of the boy´s arm. (Naruto-kun, he...he  
_blocked_ Neji´s attack?) Tenten thought.

Naruto growled at Neji.

"Don´t you dare hurt her... Do you hear me? Don´t you DARE hurt her!" Naruto growled.

Tenten´s eyes widened. Did Naruto just defend her?  
Neji went from surprised, to annoyed.

"We are training, dropout boy! Don´t interfere!" Neji said.

Naruto grit his teeth.

"Are you BLIND? Tenten couldn´t move! And yet, you went after her with all you had!  
When your sparring partner can´t move anymore, you´re supposed to stop! But I guess  
you´re so arrogant, not to say stupid, that you dismissed that little fact! You did the  
same thing to Hinata...your own relative! All you really seem to care about is yourself  
and your own sense of life! You´re disrespectfull, rude, arrogant, ignorant, and coldhearted.  
You call yourself Hyuuga Neji with that? You may be part of Konoha´s most respected  
family... But to me, you´re just a brainless jerk!" Naruto said.

Neji´s eyes narrowed and he bit back whatever response he had had. For a long time,  
he just stared Naruto in the eye. Then, with one swift move, he removed his hand from  
Naruto´s arm and strode away.  
Tenten was shell shocked by what she had seen. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were  
wide open. Naruto was shaking with anger but he calmed himself. He then turned to Tenten.

"Hey... Are you alright?"

Tenten finally snapped out of her trance and saw Naruto standing before her with his hand  
extended. She looked at the offered hand as if she didn´t understand what he meant. She looked  
at his face, and was met with a smile.  
Something deep inside of Tenten reacted when Naruto smiled at her. She felt her cheeks  
become red and her breathing quickened slightly. Tenten was confused immensively by  
this. (W, what´s going on? Why am I blushing? T, this is Naruto for gods sake!)  
Tenten thought. She swallowed and took his hand. Naruto helped her to her feet but didn´t let  
go of her hand immediately, and neither did she. They looked into each other´s eyes.  
Sea blue meeting chocolate brown. Naruto´s smile slowly faded, something about Tenten  
made him feel funny.  
Tenten studied the blonde boy before her, and found that she kind of liked what she saw.  
(He´s not as bad looking as I thought... He´s actually quite handsome if you can look past  
his childish outer self... Whow! What am I thinking?) Tenten blinked. She swallowed.

"T, thanks Naruto-kun... I guess Neji misread my movements..." Tenten managed to get out.

The more she looked at Naruto, the more she liked what she saw.

"Aaah, it was nothing! I just tried to help. T, that´s all!" Naruto said with a slight hint of  
nervousness in his voice.

Tenten looked Naruto up and down. Her cheeks heated up and her heartbeat quickened.  
Then, their eyes locked. They lost all sense of time and place as they gazed into each  
other´s eyes. Tenten drowned in Naruto´s blue orbs. She couldn´t tear her eyes from  
his. Then before she knew it, he had crossed the distance between them and had her  
in his arms. He lowered his face and pressed his lips against Tenten´s. Her cheeks  
flushed crimson and her breathing sped up. Never before in her life had Tenten felt  
so alive than when Naruto kissed her. It was like she had been dreaming up untill  
now. Tenten lost her self-control and a burning passion took over. She placed her hands  
on the back of Naruto´s head and kissed him back, with passion. She ran her hands  
through his wild spiky hair. Naruto soon responded and their light kissing turned  
more passionate.

"End flashback"

* * *

Tenten opened her eyes and smiled. She sighed contently as Naruto kissed her  
neck before drawing back to look at her face. He smiled warmly at her and his  
smile was mirrored by Tenten´s. (Me and Naruto-kun have been together for two  
years now. When he kissed me then, I finally realised that I had been blinded by my  
crush on Neji. I probably loved Naruto-kun from the very first time I saw him, I just  
never realised it. But now I see. I see everything clearly. I love Naruto-kun with all  
my heart. And I am pretty sure that he loves me back just as much.) Tenten thought.  
Naruto stroked her cheek fondly and let his other hand trace circles on her back. 

"Tenten, I´m sorry that I haven´t been paying you enough attention lately..." Naruto said,  
his eyes showed how bad he felt more than his words.

Tenten shook her head and put her slender hand on his cheek.

"Don´t be sorry. You couldn´t help it. You and your team have been away on missions  
for almost a week straight. And missions can´t be ignored. Even though I wish they  
could be..." Tenten said.

Naruto nodded. He felt just the same way.

"I still feel like an ass though. Tell you what, I´ll take you out to eat tonight." Naruto said.

Tenten gasped lightly at this.

"Naruto-kun! You don´t need to! Really!" Tenten said.

He had taken her out to eat many times before and she had always enjoyed herself  
immensively. But she didn´t want him to feel guilty about his absence and take her  
out just because of it. Naruto silenced her by putting a finger to her lips.

"I want to make up for my absence. I will take you out to eat tonight and not just to  
make up for lost time, but because I want to." Naruto stated.

Tenten didn´t protest anymore. She put her forehead against his and smiled  
warmly at him.

"Alright, you win. But I get to choose where we´ll eat alright?" Tenten said.

Naruto nodded.

"Of course." He said.

They laughed. Then Naruto captured her lips with his own, making her heart  
flutter. They both felt alive. When they broke apart for air, Naruto pulled out  
a kunai.

"Let´s train a little first, shall we?" Naruto said.

Tenten smiled wryly.

"Alright. But only for a little bit." Tenten said.

Naruto agreed, and they headed out on the training ground.

* * *

Later that night, at Tenten´s house... 

"Right! That should do it!" Tenten said to herself.

She was standing before a mirror, looking over herself. She was dressed  
in a black silk dress with red lines following the outlining. Her hair was down  
and free of any ponytail. It looked like Sakura´s when she had long hair, only  
that it wasn´t spiky. Tenten, being pleased with her looks, went to get her jacket.  
She stepped outside of her appartment and locked the door.

The young woman left the building and looked around for her date. She smiled  
wryly. (I bet he´s late as per usual.) Tenten thought. Then, someone patted her shoulder.  
She turned and came face to face with none other than Naruto. The blonde boy was  
grinning and rubbing the back of his head. He was dressed in a white shirt, black pants,  
and of course, his orange jacket. Naruto had removed his forehead protector for once.

"Sorry, Tenten. Am I late? I tried to get here as fast as I could." Naruto said.

Tenten shook her head.

"No, I just left the appartment. You´re just in time." Tenten said.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh and then he grinned.

"Great! Shall we go?" Naruto asked.

He offered her his arm. Tenten smiled and took it.

"Yes." She said.

As they made their way to the restaurant they were going to eat at, Naruto  
found it very hard to control himself. He snuck peaks at Tenten every five  
seconds. (My god...she is beautifull! She really have grown to become a  
stunning young woman.) Naruto thought. His eyes darted across his date´s  
body. Naruto´s all too helpfull mind provided him with images of some...  
impure things. He tore his eyes away from Tenten and tried to supress his  
feelings. He had had some problems with his self-control over the past few  
months. Naruto knew that it was his teenager hormones that was messing up  
his mind. (Stop thinking like that, man! She´s your girlfriend for goodness  
sake! You don´t want her in that way!) His mind kept telling him.  
A low rumbling in the back of his head alerted him of the presence of a  
certain demon.  
(**_You don't want her in that way, do you? Well...I'd say that "certain"  
body parts of yours are disagreeing with you!_**)  
Naruto groaned in his head. He really didn´t need this right now!  
The fox demon always stated the obvious!  
(**Can't you shut up for ONE night, Kyuubi? You've been terrorising  
me ever since I started going out with Tenten!**) Naruto yelled in his head.  
(**_I'm afraid I can't do that, kid! This is just about the only entertainment  
I get nowadays! You have NO idea how it is like to just sit in a cell all  
day without ANYTHING to do at all! Since you haven't killed anyone  
since I don't know when, I take out my frustration this way instead!_**)  
Kyuubi stated.  
Naruto growled.  
(**It's been TWO YEARS, Kyuubi! So don't give me that CRAP!  
Now PU-LEASE...SHUT UP!**) Naruto growled in his head.  
Kyuubi practically howled with laughter at his so called "threat".  
But nevertheless, he went quiet.  
Naruto let out a big sigh. He really hated it when the damned fox demon  
decided to pester him with his never-ending supply of lies and absurd  
suggestions. But no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he still wanted  
her. Naruto wanted Tenten, badly. He shook his head and concentrated  
on repeating all the Techniques he knew in his head, over and over again.

Unknown to him, Tenten was having similar thoughts about him. She looked  
at his well trained body and blushed. (When did Naruto become such a  
handsome man? He's grown over the past two years...yeah, he definitely  
has.) Tenten thought. She fought to suppress the growing feeling of warmth  
in her chest. (Come on! What are you thinking? He's your boyfriend for  
Christ's sake! You don't want him in that way!) Her mind kept telling her.  
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't deny that she wanted him.  
Tenten wanted Naruto, very badly. She tried to clear her head by repeating  
all of the Taijutsus she knew in her mind, over and over again.

The two teenagers tried to suppress their feelings during their meal and  
succeeded, allthough barely. As the two left the restaurant, they were both  
feeling rather warm.

Naruto´s cheeks were flushed as was Tenten´s. Just sitting right in front of  
her had been a royal pain. He hadn't been able to kiss her or simply touch  
her, which he yearned to do.  
Tenten struggled to keep herself from panting. She was so warm, and a bit  
aroused. (God... I can't believe that just being with him can make me feel  
like this!) Tenten thought.

The two teenagers passed a dark alley, and a shadow suddenly shot out  
of it! A light whistling sound was heard. Naruto's ninja senses immediately  
detected the threat and he reacted instantly. Naruto grabbed Tenten by the  
waist and pushed her out of the way of the sharp projectile. Tenten was  
surprised to say the least when Naruto pushed her. She was even more  
surprised when a kunai dug itself into his shoulder! Naruto let out a pained  
grunt and he turned around to face their attacker. A slim man between the  
ages 28-31 stood a distance away. His green vest showed his ninja rank.  
The man was a Chuunin.  
Naruto growled at the man.

"Ehehehehe! My, my, my! It seems that you're better than I thought, demon  
spawn! To be able to not only sense, but to also block my attack in pitch  
darkness...that was rather good. For thrash like you! Too bad I hit you first,  
demon spawn! I was planning to hit you with my second attack. A poisoned  
kunai, that is. Heh, too bad I missed the girl..." The Chuunin-thug stated.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at this. There actually were people in Konoha  
that would attack him right in the street? He never would have thought that  
anyone in Konoha would dare to do something like that!  
Tenten stared in horror as thick drops of blood dripped from his shoulder.  
She got back up onto her feet and cursed herself for not bringing any  
weapons with her.  
Naruto's brain now registered the man's last statement.  
"_Too bad I missed the girl..._"  
(He was aiming for Tenten! He, he was trying to _kill_ Tenten!) Naruto thought.  
A low rumble was heard in his head and this time, Naruto wellcomed it.  
The fox demon grinned inside of the boy's head. Maybe he could convince  
the kid to kill the man! The demon was excited at the mere thought of blood!  
The man chuckled.

"I don't know how the demon boy convinced you to go out with him, girl...  
But it must have been a really good lie, don't you think? I mean, demons aren't  
capable of feelings. Except for hatred and bloodlust of course." The Chuunin  
said.

Tenten frowned in anger.

"Where the FUCK did YOU get air from? Naruto isn't a demon! Naruto is Naruto!"  
Tenten growled.

The Chuunin again chuckled.

"Girl, since you're so hell bent on staying with that monster...I have no  
choice, but to kill you, along with the demon spawn!" The man stated.

He pulled out another kunai. A kunai with something purple dripping  
from it. Tenten's eyes widened. (That purple liquid! It must be poison!)  
Tenten's mind immediately analysed. The man chuckled, then he  
disappeared! A loud "_smack_!", followed by a pained scream echoed  
through the night.  
Naruto spun and saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

The Chuunin-thug was standing right before Tenten with his arm fully  
extended. That, and Tenten was falling to the ground. A fresh bruise  
was already forming on her cheek where the man's hand had hit her.  
Apparently, he had decided to first humiliate her before killing her.  
Everything went into slow-motion for Naruto at this point. He saw  
Tenten slowly, slowly falling to the ground with a bruised cheek.  
Naruto now lost it. He closed his eyes and time went back to normal.  
Tenten hit the ground with a _Thud_!.  
The man raised the arm with the kunai in it, and a pair of blood red  
eyes opened.

"Die, girl!" The man yelled with a mad look on his face.

The Chuunin-thug brought the poisoned kunai down, and Tenten's  
brown eyes widened. A clawed hand grabbed the man's wrist and  
twisted it roughly, making him drop his weapon. The man screamed  
in agony and pulled his arm free of the blonde's grasp. He stared at  
the teenager with mixed feelings in his eyes.  
Tenten blinked, then she looked up. She saw Naruto standing with his  
back to her. He was hunched down slightly in a dog-like stature.

A loud growl rose from Naruto's throat and it grew into a roar!  
A whirlwind of red Chakra erupted from him and his roar grew louder!  
The kunai that was stuck in his shoulder was blown away by the sheer force  
of the boy's Chakra. Smoke surrounded the wound and it began to close  
immediately.  
Tenten was shocked to say the least!

"N, Naruto-kun...!" Tenten stuttered.

Naruto quieted down for a moment.

"I promised long ago that I would protect Tenten...and now that you  
have hurt her... I WILL BEAT YOU TO A BLOODY PULP!"  
Naruto roared!

Then he blurred away! The Chuunin-thug's eyes widened in fear as  
the fox/teenager charged him. The red eyed boy formed his favourite  
hand seal and split into five different copies of himself. The four  
clones reached the man and disappeared. They reappeared around the  
Chuunin and made a quadruple upward-kick attack!

The man was sent spiraling up into the air. There, the real Naruto  
was waiting. The foxy teenager grinned savagely at the man and raised  
his leg. The Chuunin-thug's eyes widened in fear, then it was too late.  
Naruto brought his foot down and completely smashed the man's face!  
The Chuunin spiraled downwards and hit the ground, hard.  
The four Naruto's dissolved into smoke as the real one landed on the  
ground. The red Chakra disappeared and his appearence changed back  
to normal. Naruto fell down on one knee while panting heavily.  
Tenten stared at her boyfriend. She could hardly believe what she just  
had seen! Tenten had heard about and seen several of Naruto's fights  
before, but she never would have thought that he had always been THIS  
powerful! Tenten's brain finally snapped back into functioning, and she  
quickly got to her feet and made her way over to him. She kneeled down  
beside Naruto and put her arms around him.

"Naruto-kun! Are you alright? Naruto-kun?" Tenten asked, worried.

Naruto surprised her by grinning! He looked at the unconscious thug  
before him and his grin widened. He then looked up at Tenten with  
shining blue eyes.

"I beat him up...just like I said I would!" Naruto stated.

Tenten's brow furrowed with concern.

"You idiot! Why did you go along and do that for?" Tenten ranted.

Naruto smiled warmly at her and she fell quiet.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, but if there is one thing I just can't take...  
then that's letting my girlfriend get hurt! I'm sorry, Tenten. I couldn't stop  
him in time..." Naruto said.

His smile disappeared at the end and he looked down into the ground.  
Tenten's hand went up to her sore cheek and she whinched slightly.  
The man had hit her harder than she thought. But that was of no concern  
to her. Tenten's heart nearly melted at Naruto's statement. Sometimes it  
was hard to believe that the blonde before her had once been just a small  
boy prankster, and not the loving man he was today. Tenten hugged Naruto  
close and dug her face into his shoulder.

"Don't be silly, Naruto-kun! You have nothing to be sorry for! You beat that  
guy bloody, just like you said you would! You saved my life, Naruto-kun!  
That's something I can never thank you enough for! Allthough, you should  
have left him somewhat conscious for me!" Tenten stated.

Naruto looked at her for a moment, then he slowly grinned. He hugged Tenten  
back and his grin evolved into a smile.

"Thanks, Tenten. I can't believe how lucky I am to have someone like you..."  
Naruto wisphered.

Tenten nodded.

"Same to you, Naruto-kun. Same, to you."

* * *

They made it back to the apartment without anymore trouble. When they made  
it to Tenten´s door, they faced each other again. Naruto smiled slightly and  
gently caressed Tenten's still slightly red cheek.

"I still can't believe I let him hit you..." Naruto mumbled.

His blue eyes shone with guilt. Tenten silenced him by putting one of her  
fingers to his lips. She shook her head at Naruto with a loving smile.

"How many times do I have to say this? It wasn't your fault,

Naruto-kun! I'm not mad at you. If anything, I'm thankfull. You saved my  
life, and that is something that is pretty high in my standards for a good  
boyfriend!" Tenten stated.

Naruto smiled and took her in his arms.

"You're right. I should stop worrying and start loving you even more than  
before. I swore long ago that I would protect you, and I swear, that I will  
NEVER let anything like this happen again. EVER." Naruto stated.

Tenten nodded at him.

"Fair enough. But next time, save some for me, alright?" Tenten said,  
playfully.

"That's going to be tough, considering that there isn't going to _be_ a  
next time." Naruto stated, stubbornly.

Tenten left it at that.  
Naruto then leaned into her and kissed her deeply. Tenten kissed him  
back just as deeply. Naruto felt something stir inside of him and  
deepened the kiss even more.

He put his arms on her back and pulled her as close to him as he could.  
Naruto felt as if he had to really show Tenten just how much he loved  
her. After the Chuunin-thug's attack on them earlier, he felt that he needed  
to make Tenten feel loved and safe. He was determined to do just that.  
Naruto licked Tenten´s lips and she opened her mouth. Their tounges met,  
and their passion built up. Tenten's hands lost themselves in his unruly  
blonde hair. She pressed her mouth more fully against Naruto's in a vain  
attempt at heightening their shared passion. Naruto's hands toyed with the  
zipper on Tenten's back and his girlfriend fisted her small hands inside  
of his shirt.  
Somehow during all this, Tenten managed to unlock the door and pull  
the blonde in with her. As soon as they made it inside, Naruto kicked  
the door closed and spun around. He pushed Tenten up against the door  
and started tounge-kissing her passionately. Tenten answered by kissing  
him back with a feverish want.

Naruto felt his control slipping little by little, but he wasn't worried  
somehow. He had never done anything like this before, but he wasn't  
scared or even nervous.  
Tenten had never done anything even remotely close to what they were  
doing before, but she wasn't afraid or nervous at all.

And as the night evolved, their passion reached new heights.  
They were both virgins, but that didn't seem to matter.  
Naruto was never afraid during the whole ordeal and neither was  
Tenten. It all felt so right.

Tenten's chocolate coloured eyes fluttered open and she drew lazy  
circles on Naruto's stomach. Their bodies were covered in a nice  
thin layer of sweat. Tenten lifted her head from her lover's chest and  
looked up. Naruto seemed to sense that she was looking at him and his  
own eyes opened. Sky blue met chocolate brown. Tenten smiled warmly  
at him, her brown bangs lay slightly plastered to her forehead. She reached  
up and kissed him on his cheek before returning to his chest. Naruto smiled  
warmly at her and put his hand on her back.

"I love you, Tenten." Naruto wisphered.

Tenten closed her eyes with a smile.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun." Tenten wisphered back.

The two lovers then closed their eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber.  
Naruto frowned slightly in his sleep. He tiredly opened his eyes and  
looked up at the ceiling. A large black tattoo appeared on his stomach.  
(**Kyuubi...I don't know what you find so amusing about this, but...shut the  
hell up, please?**)  
Naruto looked down at his lover and smiled. The booming echo of the fox  
demon's laughter died as he stroked the young woman's hair. Tenten slept  
peacefully. The black tattoo on his stomach faded away and the blonde ninja  
could relax again. After looking down at the person he loved the most in the  
whole wide world, he soon fell asleep again.

The two lovers slept peacefuly the rest of the night.

* * *

Hello again everyone! I read through this fic to get me started on the upcoming fourth chapter,  
but then I realised what a disorder my sentences were in! And some facts and statements were  
wrong as well. So, I decided to fix those up first, before going in for the fourth chapter.  
Tell me what you think about the changes! And of course, the upcoming fourth chapter!  
See ya! 


	2. Another fight, and shocking news!

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Naruto.

Here it is! The next chapter in this (hopefully) good NaruTen story! Enjoy!

...please?

* * *

The sun shone through the window of a particular house in Konoha.  
Two young people lay tangled together in the bedroom.  
The young brunette slowly moved, signaling that she was about to  
wake up.  
Tenten's brown eyes fluttered open but they closed again almost  
immediately. The sun shone straight into her face. Tenten stretched and  
let out a yawn before sitting up. It was now that she noticed the other  
person beside her. Tenten immediately remembered what had happened  
the day before and she smiled. The brunette stealthily snuck out of the bed  
and made her way to her closet. She dug out some clothes for herself and  
went into the bathroom to change.  
When fully clothed, she made her way back into the bedroom. Tenten smiled  
when she saw that her boyfriend was still sleeping soundly.She silently  
made her way to the small kitchen. She immediately started cooking breakfeast.

Being together with Naruto for two years had taught her some important things  
about the blonde. One thing being his favourite breakfeast, lunch, dinner, and  
midnight snack. Ramen, that is. Tenten and Naruto had spent many days at  
her appartment, which had taught her that it was a good thing to have a large  
stock of Ramen avalible.  
Tenten hummed peacefully as she prepared a large portion of Miso Ramen  
for herself and her lover.

As she set out plates on the table, she thought back on the incident last night.  
Tenten frowned slightly. She remembered how Naruto had called upon a  
huge amount of Chakra. (Naruto-kun...what the hell happened to you last night?  
Where the heck did that red Chakra come from? And, why did it feel so scary?  
I mean, that Chakra was big enough to make Tsunade-sama seem like nothing!)  
Tenten wondered. She had been so caught up in her emotions and wants the  
night before, that she had completely forgotten about the fight.  
Tenten pondered the subject for about ten minutes.

The sound of footsteps pulled her back to reality. She turned to see a sleepy  
Naruto standing in the kitchen doorway. Tenten smiled as he walked up to her.  
Naruto yawned and shook his head to clear the sleepiness from it.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun!" Tenten greeted.

Naruto rubbed the last bit of sleepiness from his eyes and looked down at the  
table. His blue eyes grew wide as he took in the large meal set on the table.  
Naruto looked back at Tenten with fake tears in his eyes.

"Having you and a big portion of Ramen in the same room...I'm in heaven!"  
Naruto said and wiped the 'tears' away with a dramatic hand gesture.

(All sleepiness seems to be gone from him now.) Tenten noted amusedly.

"Well why don't you sit down? The Ramen is getting cold." Tenten said.

Naruto quickly sat down and grabbed a pair of chopsticks. By the time that  
Tenten was seated, Naruto had devoured one bowl of Ramen and was  
working on his second. Tenten couldn't help but giggle again. (He's so...cute.  
Especially when he is eating. He's handsome too. _That_, I really noticed  
last night.) Tenten thought, her cheeks coloring slightly as she thought that.

After finishing his 10th bowl of ramen, Naruto leaned back against the  
chair. He sighed contently and patted his stomach. Tenten finished her 3rd bowl  
and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She smiled at her boyfriend.  
Then the issue of what happened the night before came to her mind. Tenten looked  
down at the table and started running her finger in small circles.

"Um... Naruto-kun? Can I ask you something?" Tenten asked nervously.

Naruto looked at her. He wasn't the brightest when it came to understand  
other people's feelings, or his own, for that matter, but even he could see  
that the girl before him was nervous about something.

"Sure, Tenten. Shoot." Naruto said.

Tenten nodded to herself and struggled to keep the nervousness from  
her voice. (How should I start this...?) Tenten wondered. She made  
up her mind.

"About the fight last night..." Tenten began, she had decided to be  
blunt and to the point with him, seeing as it was usually the approach  
that worked best on him.

She saw how Naruto visibly tensed up at her question. She wondered  
if she had hit a nerve. Naruto directed his eyes away from her and  
clenched his teeth. (Damn it! I knew that this was going to happen! I shouldn't  
have lost control during the fight... I could have used the Shadow Replication  
and kicked that guy's ass, WITHOUT Kyuubi's Chakra. I didn't need that  
furball's Chakra at all! It was just that... I couldn't stand seeing Tenten getting  
hurt! Dammit! Now what do I do? Damn, damn, damn! Let's see... If I tell her,  
then she will most surely leave me... But if I don't tell her... Then there's a  
chance that she will either squeeze it out of someone else, or she'll just turn  
around and leave me anyway! I... I am SO...utterly..._screwed_.) Naruto thought.  
Tenten watched how the blonde boy started shaking in what appeared to be futility.  
He looked like a trapped animal.

"Naruto-kun...?" Tenten asked, hoping to get an answer.

Naruto shook his head at her.

"I can't tell you... It would...it would destroy what we have..." Naruto said, finally.

Tenten's eyes widened slightly at this. Was the secret to his power THAT dark?  
Tenten frowned slightly at this thought. She had never liked being left in the  
dark. Naruto knew this. And yet, here he was, trying to hide something from her.  
Even though it may be to protect her, somehow, Tenten did not like the thought  
of spending the rest of her life with Naruto while knowing that he was keeping  
something from her.

Naruto was saved from having to answer, as a thunderous crash was heard!  
Naruto's eyes snapped open and he saw how three of the appartment's windows  
were smashed. Three men came through them and stared at the residents with  
hatred in their eyes. Naruto frowned. He recognised one of them. It was the  
thug he had beaten up the day before.  
(The other two must be his friends! Not that I can understand how anyone  
can possibly be friendly towards a creep like him! Enough about that! I've got to  
kick these guys out of Tenten's appartment! It's bad enough that it's my fault  
they broke into it!) Naruto thought.

"Hey! Fox-demon! You've really done it now! Humiliating our buddy by  
actually beating him... We'll kill you!" One of the men yelled.

Tenten slid into a fighting stance. She pulled out two kunai, grateful she had  
them around this time. The man's comment had made her wonder.  
(Fox-demon? What did he mean by that?) Tenten wondered. Then, a memory of the  
last fight arose in her head.

* * *

"Flashback"

_Tenten blinked, then she looked up. She saw Naruto standing with his back  
to her. He was hunched down slightly in a dog-like stature.  
__A loud growl rose from Naruto's throat and it grew into a roar! A whirlwind of red  
Chakra erupted from him and his roar grew louder! The kunai that was stuck  
in his shoulder was blown away by the sheer force of the boy's Chakra.  
Smoke surrounded the wound and it began to close immediately.  
_  
"End Flashback"

* * *

(Naruto-kun's appearance...it _did_ look a little fox-like. It seems like these guys  
know what Naruto-kun is hiding from me... Damn it! I wanna know too,  
goddammnit!) Tenten thought.  
_  
_"Get out. Or do you want me to help you out?" Naruto asked coolly.

The three men all growled and started molding Chakra.

Naruto frowned deeply. There really were people in Konoha who would kill  
just to be rid of an irritating villager? Just because he happened to have a big  
furball sealed into his stomach! Naruto started growling, he could feel the Kyuubi  
Chakra bubbling beneath his Chakra centre. The blonde ninja suppressed it.  
He didn't want to scare Tenten right now.  
Not ever.  
Tenten shook her head to clear it and bent her knees. It was time for some sweet  
payback.

"Are you idiots _really_ Konoha ninjas? I mean, you're murderous and stupid!  
That's not fitting of a Konoha ninja! Oh, and another thing...I still have to pay  
you back for slapping me!" Tenten said fiercely and pointed straight at said thug.

Veins appeared on the thug's forehead as she said this. He started barking out  
different insults, but the two young ninjas didn't listen. Naruto turned to Tenten  
with a small smile.

"I'm going to clear these guys out of here. If, by some chance, one of them gets  
past me, I want you to finish him." Naruto stated.

Then he turned away from her and formed his favourite hand seal.  
Tenten grinned.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, but I can't do that! I have a score to settle!" She stated.

Naruto paused, then he closed his eyes, still with the small smile present.

"Heh, should have known you'd say that...!" He muttered.

Tenten directed her eyes forward and focused on the situation at hand.  
(There will be time to wonder about this demon-history after the fight! There's  
no way that I'm going to let Naruto-kun get all the good stuff! I still have a debt  
to repay to one of these guys!) Tenten thought.

"Shadow Replication Technique!" Naruto called out.

The 12 Naruto's charged the thugs, splitting into 3 teams of 4.  
Tenten focused Chakra underneath her feet and stomped the ground, giving her  
a speed boost. She ran past four of the Naruto's and leapt into the air. The real  
Naruto smiled at her, his usuall cockyness was starting to return. He ran ahead  
of his clones, eager to finish what he had started the day before.  
Tenten vaulted and executed a fast axe-kick directed at one of the thug's head.  
But the Chuunin caught her leg and spun her around a couple of times before  
releasing her. A second later, she heard several "_poofs_" which indicated that  
some of Naruto's clones had been destroyed.  
Tenten was slightly surprised at this, but she managed to land on her feet. Or so  
she would have, if it wasn't for the Chuunin-thug that happened to stand  
behind her. He grabbed her legs and started spinning her around. Tenten was  
surprised to find herself spinning again! (I attacked him at full speed! Where the  
heck did his arms come from?) She wondered briefly.  
The thug yelled and released her. Unfortunately for Tenten, the man who was  
spinning her this time happened to be standing much closer to the wall.  
Tenten slammed into the wall back-first. She coughed up a minimum amount of  
blood before sliding down to the floor. She opened her eyes and got back up  
on her feet again.

"Shit! That hurt...! Damn it! I will NOT tolerate this!" Tenten cursed.

The thug who stood before her grinned and then laughed at her. This fueled the  
brunette's anger. But before she charged him, she looked around quickly.  
The young brunette saw how two Shadow Replications held one of the thugs in  
place while two other clones gave him a royal thrashing.  
Tenten then turned slightly and saw how a lone Naruto was facing off against the  
third thug. She saw the blonde get in a punch on the thug at the same time as he did.  
The two backed away from each other and growled. Tenten grit her teeth.  
The thug he was fighting just happened to be the one who had slapped her before.  
She frowned slightly. (That must be the real Naruto-kun since he didn't disappear  
after the hit!) She quickly concluded.  
Tenten turned back to her own opponent.

It was time.

The skilled kunoichi reached into her item pouch and took out two nicely  
decorated scrolls. She placed them on the ground and kneeled.  
The thug made some rapid hand seals and a katana appeared in his right hand.

"I'm sorry that the demon spawn managed to drag such an attractive young girl  
like you into the dirt. But don't worry. I will make it painless for you. You won't  
feel a thing." The thug stated.

Then he charged. Tenten concentrated and molded some Chakra while making  
rapid hand seals. (No way in hell am I going to let this guy off easily! Here goes!)  
Tenten crossed her arms with her hands up at her shoulders.

"Rising Twin Dragons!"

Tenten exploded into a huge cloud of smoke, which halted the thug's advances.  
He stared dumbfounded into the smoke. He had seen nothing like that before!  
Then, two dragon heads made of smoke rose from the cloud with impressive  
speed! They spun around each other rapidly before turning into the same scrolls  
from the beginning. The scrolls continued spinning around each other as high  
up in the air as the ceiling allowed. Tenten gathered Chakra at her feet and  
leapt high up into the air. She reached the top and started putting her hands  
and feet on different places on the scrolls. Every time she touched a spot on  
the scrolls, a weapon emerged. Tenten focused her Chakra so that the weapons  
she wasn't holding got stuck underneath her feet. She then started kicking  
and moving her arms, making the weapons fly.  
The thug's eyes widened as a whole barrage of kunai, different kinds of knifes,  
schytes, daggers, senbon needles, and shurikens came flying at him!  
A second and a scream later, the man looked very much like a hedgehog. He fell on  
his back with at least seven weapons buried in each limb.  
Tenten landed on the ground and glared at him.

"You're lucky that I don't have the heart to kill you, you know. But I DO have the  
heart to hurt you..._very_ much. I believe I've shown you that." Tenten grumbled.

The man wasn't dead, just wounded.  
The used scrolls fell down beside Tenten.  
It was now that she noticed that she was out of breath. Not only that, a large amount  
of her Chakra had been sapped. Just like that. She started panting as she stood up.

"What the? Why am I...so drained? Using that attack once doesn't take much Chakra  
at all! What's...going on here?" Tenten wondered.

The brunette took a step forward and immediately felt nauseous. Tenten felt the  
floor billow underneath her feet and she had to fight in order to keep her balance.  
(W, what's going on with me? I... I feel sick... Did that guy use some kind of poison  
on me? No, he never touched me, so he couldn't have. Genjutsu? No, I don't think  
so...he never formed any hand seals besides for when he summoned that sword.  
Then what is it? Whoa!) Tenten thought.  
The brunette swooned dangerously on her feet and she only just managed to stay  
standing. Tenten tried to call out to Naruto, but her mouth wouldn't cooperate with  
her. The brown haired kunoichi grit her teeth and frowned as another wave of  
sickness washed over her.

Naruto and the Chuunin-thug circled each other while eyeing the other warily.  
They were holding one kunai each.  
Naruto's left eye twitched, and the thug's eyes widened slightly.  
They jumped in at the same time and clashed a few times with their kunai.  
After dealing a few blows, the two ninjas jumped back. They started circling again  
without breaking eye contact at all. Naruto grit his teeth slightly. (Damn it! He is  
good! He sliced up all of my clones in a matter of seconds! But something isn't  
right here...he wasn't this strong yesterday! Wasn't he serious yesterday? No, he  
must have been serious... I bet he was just too shocked to move when I showed  
him my Kyuubi Chakra. Damn this, I need to end it now!) Naruto thought.  
He jumped away from the Chuunin-thug and formed his favourite hand seal.

"Shadow Replication Technique!" Naruto yelled.

He erupted into six clones. The clones ran up beside the thug and formed a  
wide circle.  
The thug merely humphed and started making hand seals.

"Ha! You won't get me this time! Here's a little something for you!  
Wind Element - Sonic Blades Technique!" The thug called out.

The Chuunin-thug made all his fingers erect. He started slashing the air  
viciously. Three of clones suddenly screamed as vicious winds slashed  
through them! They dissolved into smoke with individual _poofs_!.  
Naruto quickly created three more clones and sent them to take the old  
one's places. The Chuunin humphed again and made the same hand seals.  
This time however, Naruto was ready for him. He gathered Chakra and  
mentally told his clones to do the same. When the Chuunin-thug let loose  
with his attack, Naruto and his clones stomped the ground and jumped up  
to the ceiling. The team of Naruto's pushed away from the roof as soon  
as their feet touched it. They quickly put their hands together.

"TRANSFORM!" The Naruto team yelled.

A big smoke cloud erupted from them and the Chuunin-thug looked up.  
His eyes widened at what he saw. Six big balls of steel rained out of  
the smoke cloud! The Chuunin-thug froze.

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

Needless to say, the Chuunin-thug wasn't that steady on his feet  
anymore.  
Six poofs of smoke later, Naruto stood alone before the fallen thug. He was  
slightly out of breath, but that was soon cured. After confirming that the thug  
he had beaten wasn't going anywhere soon, Naruto turned to check on his  
girlfriend.

"Tenten, are you-" Naruto's words froze in his throat.

Tenten was lying on the floor unconscious. Naruto zipped over to her in  
less than a second. He kneeled down beside her and put his right hand  
behind her head. Naruto raised her up slightly and shook her.

"Tenten? Tenten! Hey, Tenten! Wake up!" Naruto beckoned.

But Tenten remained motionless. Naruto was getting REALLY worried  
by now. As he sat there without knowing what to do, a low rumbling in  
the back of his head was heard.  
(**_Hey, kid! KID! Snap out of it will you? The female's not dead!_**)  
Naruto blinked.  
(**What now, Kyuubi? If this is one of your sick jokes, then no thank you!**)  
Naruto sent.  
(**_Even though I DO have a few of those in mind, I didn't contact you  
for that purpose. Listen kid, it's about the female._**) Kyuubi said.  
Naruto picked Tenten up from the floor and walked towards the  
bedroom.  
(**Congratulations! Did you finally notice that there's something wrong  
with her?**) Naruto grumbled. He put Tenten down on her bed and made  
sure that she was breathing before listening to the fox demon again.  
(**_There's nothing wrong with her! She's just tired out. That, and  
she's carrying a cub._**) Kyuubi said.  
Naruto blinked once, twice, then the hidden meaning behind the demon's  
words revealed itself in his mind.  
(**WHAAAAT?**)

* * *

Hello everyone! Like I said in the last chapter, I've changed this chapter a little bit. It _should_ look a little  
better now. Like always, send me reviews and tell me what you think.  
See ya'll soon!


	3. A small explanation

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.

Yo! Here's the third chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto shook his head. He couldn't believe what the demon fox  
was trying to tell him.  
(**What? That's absurd! Tenten isn't pregnant! She, she _can't_ be!**)  
Naruto sent back in disbelief.  
(**_Oh yeah? Then what did you two do last night if not mating?  
Correct me if I'm wrong, but a female usually becomes pregnant  
after a mating session, does she not?Face it kid! The female IS  
carrying a cub, whether you're happy with it or not!_**) Kyuubi said.  
Naruto stared wide-eyed at Tenten's stomach.  
(**S, so what you're saying is... That Tenten is pregnant, with  
my child?**) Naruto stuttered in his head.  
Kyuubi mentally slapped himself with his clawed paw at the boy's  
stupidity.  
(**_Yes. The female is pregnant. The only reason she fainted, is  
that the cub is beginning to demand more and more Chakra  
from her._**) Kyuubi exclaimed.  
(**B, but..! I have seen pregnant women before and, they didn't  
look as drained as Tenten is now!**) Naruto sent.  
Kyuubi grumbled, but decided to answer.  
(**_That's because they weren't carrying the cub of a stupid  
teenager with a big and powerfull fox-demon in his stomach!  
Now, listen! _****_I am going to give you some valuable information!  
In a week from now, the cub will be firmly attached to her  
Chakra pathways. This means that after seven days from now,  
abortion, as you humans call it, will be impossible._**) Kyuubi said.  
Naruto slowly digested every word. His brow furrowed in  
confusion.  
(**What do you mean, Kyuubi?**) Naruto wondered.  
(**_Since I am sealed in your body, the cub will have certain  
_****_side-effects. The cub will, regretably, look completely like a  
normal human. But the Chakra... Now THAT's a completely  
different story! My Chakra is flowing in your body, whether  
you like it or not! So naturally, a big part of it WILL be transferred  
to the cub. I'm not sure how much, or what colour it is going to be,  
but I AM sure that it WON'T grow any fangs, claws, or fur!  
Regretably..._**) Kyuubi explained.  
Naruto digested the information slowly. Then another thought struck  
him.  
(**But Kyuubi, if the child demands this much Chakra from Tenten,  
then won't that make the pregnancy really dangerous?**) Naruto sent,  
worry circling around his thoughts.  
(**_The cub will drain a lot of her Chakra, that's for sure. But it won't  
drain all of it. The female has too much Chakra in her for that to  
happen. I... Look. The cub was conceived only a few short hours ago.  
It has now started to grow. The cub just needed a chunk of her  
Chakra to get itself started. That's all._**) Kyuubi explained.  
Naruto took some time to digest this information as well.  
(**So the Chakra drain will slow down on it's own now, right? ****She won't  
get drained like this again, right? RIGHT?**) Naruto sent worriedly.  
The Kyuubi scratched it's chin with one of it's claws for a minute, fueling  
the boy's growing agony and despair. The demon laughed.  
Oh how he loved to torment the boy.  
(**_Yes, the Chakra drain WILL slow down now. The cub is growing fast.  
I can sense it. It's Chakra, allthough no more than the smallest thinkable  
flicker, is growing more and more._**) Kyuubi explained.  
(**But, but how-**) Naruto was interrupted before he could finish.**_  
_**(**_I don't know too much about these things, I am mostly guessing.  
If you want to be certain, then go see that stupid Hokage of yours.  
There's nothing wrong with the female or the cub. Now stop bothering  
me boy, I'm tired._**) Kyuubi stated irritadedly.

Naruto let out the breath he had been holding and relaxed slightly.  
He wasn't completely calmed though. Naruto watched the gentle rise and fall  
of Tenten's chest. His eyes were drawn down to her stomach. The blonde ninja  
shakily put a hand on top of it. Tenten was pregnant. With his child. He was  
the father. His next breath got stuck in his throat.

He was going to be a father. Him. Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto let out the breath he had been holding in his throat and swallowed  
heavily. His thoughts were going a mile a minute.

(I... Can't believe it...! I'm... I'm going to be a father! I'm really going to be a  
father! And Tenten is going to be a mother! It's, it's just... just...wow!)  
Naruto thought.  
He took in Tenten's face and frowned. Something was gnawing at his mind,  
a bad feeling of some sort. He rose to his feet and started to gather up Tenten  
into his arms.

"Come on, Tenten. I'm going to bring you to the hospital now. I know that  
Kyuubi said that you were allright, but I don't really trust the bastard.  
But don't worry, Tenten. I will definately protect you. Just like I promised."  
Naruto wisphered.

Naruto froze as he remembered something. He gently putTenten down on  
the bed again and spun around with a curse.

"Damnit! The thugs! I totally forgot about them!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto quickly dashed out into the living room and ran up to the thug  
that Tenten had beaten. He roughly removed the weapons from his body.  
The thug groaned weakly when Naruto pulled the weapons out, proving  
that he was still very much alive. None of the weapons were buried even  
halfway through his limbs, but the combined pain from all of the projectiles  
digging into different parts of him at the same time had obviously been  
enough for him to faint.  
(Wuss.) Naruto thought with great dislike.  
Naruto stood and zipped into the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later  
with a first-aid kit. He tied a few bandages onto the bigger wounds while  
ignoring the smaller ones. (He doesn't deserve this, but if I don't take care  
of some of his wounds, then people will have all the more reason to believe  
that I am Kyuubi and not just his host.) Naruto thought.  
He finished what he was doing and made one last check to see that he was  
breathing before going over to another thug.  
He was still unconcious.  
This wasn't that strange since it had only been about five to ten minutes since  
his clones knocked him out. Naruto ran a quick check on his injuries and  
concluded that he needed no bandages. He noticed, with personal joy, that  
the thug had a lump on his head the size of Mount Everest. (Score one for  
the Replications!) He thought.  
Naruto checked on the last thug and came to the conclusion that he didn't  
need any direct medical aid from him. The blonde grinned and raised his  
foot for some additional revenge, but decided against it. He had hurt him enough.  
There were already too many impotent guys running around in Konoha.

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Hmm... How am I supposed to sort this out? I need to take these guys to  
the police. But I also need to hurry and take Tenten to the hospital! If I  
take the thugs to the police first, then Tenten's condition might get worse.  
And if I take Tenten to the hospital first, then the thugs might wake up and  
either start trashing the appartment or chase after us. Aaah! What the hell  
should I do?" Naruto pondered.

His hand stopped scratching and a light bulb went off inside his head.

"Wait! I know!" Naruto exclaimed and beat his fist into his hand.

Naruto bit his right thumb and made some quick hand seals. (I can't believe  
I didn't think of this sooner!) He thought.  
He slammed his right hand down on the floor and yelled:

"Summoning Technique!"

Black markings spread out from his palm across a small part of the floor  
and a plume of ninja smoke erupted from it.  
A pink frog the size of a motorcycle appeared. It croaked a greeting and  
sat back while awaiting orders. It was wearing a blue vest with the mark  
of Konoha on the back.  
Naruto pulled out a scroll from his item pouch and conjured up a rope.  
He used it to tie the three thugs onto the back of the frog. He made sure  
that the rope was tight enough to prevent the thugs from falling off, and  
light enough to make sure that the pink frog didn't suffocate.  
Naruto then whipped up an empty scroll and hastily scribbled down a  
short message on it. He put the scroll into the breast pocket in the frog's vest.  
Naruto walked in front of the frog and pointed to the window.

"Alright, listen up! I want you to bring these low-lives to the police, got it?  
Allright... GO!" Naruto declared and made a sweeping motion with his  
hand.

The pink frog croaked and practically flew out the window as it made use  
of it's powerfull legs.  
Naruto hurried back to Tenten and made sure that she was breathing  
okay before pulling her up into his arms. He secured his grip on her  
and looked down at her worriedly.

"Don't worry Tenten! Whatever happens, I'll be there to protect you!"  
Naruto declared.

Naruto opened the bedroom window and disappeared outside. He flew  
across the rooftops as he hurried towards the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Tsunade was just putting away another pile of paperwork when the  
door burst open. The Fifth Hokage looked up, slightly startled.

"Naruto! What's wrong?" Tsunade asked when she saw Tenten in  
the blonde ninja's arms.

Naruto walked up to her desk and with a deep breath said:

"A lot."

* * *

... There's not much point in telling you how sorry I am, right? Thought so.  
Anyway,like the other chapters, I took a look at this oneand saw that it was in need of some changes.  
Nothing major at all. Just a few words here and there. Some of you might not even notice  
the changes are even there.  
Anyway, I have written a quick version of the fourth chapter, which I will turn into  
a real chapter today.  
Not much else to say, other than... See ya'll in the next chapter!

...please don't flame me.


	4. A BIG explanation!

Hey everybody! Guess who's back? That's right!  
I know I told you, and even promised you, that I wouldn't go into another  
writer's block.  
But I guess I did. And for that, I am so terribly, terribly, TERRIBLY sorry.  
I know I've said that before, but I mean it.  
I hope you forgive me enough to read the chapter, I've worked my ass off  
with it.

Here's the fourth chapter of "I will protect you... Always" ! Enjoy it!

* * *

As Naruto launched into a high-speed explanation of what had happened,  
Tsunade checked on Tenten. She executed a diagnostic jutsu while  
listening very carefully to Naruto's every word. 

And as the two of them began their discussion, something happened  
deep within Tenten's foggy mind.

* * *

Warm.

That was the first feeling she got.  
She was somewhere warm.

Light.

That was the second feeling she got.  
She was somewhere where she was floating.

Slowly, Tenten opened her eyes.  
And suddenly, she wasn't floating anymore. 

_Huh? Where am I? _

She blinked as if she had been drowsy. She shook her head to clear it  
and looked around. She was standing in a glade with green lush trees  
everywhere.

_I'm in a...forest? What am I doing here? _

Tenten turned a full 360 degrees while looking out across the forest.

_Strange...for some reason I feel like I know this place... _

"Rising Twin Dragons!!!"

Tenten spun around on her heel and whipped her head to the left, just as  
the sound of several sharp objects digging into wood was heard.

She gaped openly at the currently airborne person above her.

It was a young girl, maybe 12 or 13 years of age, she was wearing a  
pink top in chinese style, black slightly baggy pants, blue sandals, a  
forehead protector, and she had her hair up in two buns.

_What the hell...!? _

The girl was her.

Tenten stared at her younger self as she landed on the ground.  
Two unrolled scrolls landed on the ground around her. The younger  
Tenten took a few seconds to regain her breath before looking around.  
Her eyes went right past the present Tenten.

_She-I mean, I, I mean, gahh! _She_ can't see me... Of course she can't,  
this is a dream after all. _

But even though she knew that, she felt oddly awake for being in a dream.  
Tenten followed her younger self's example and looked around. She saw  
numerous kunai, senbon needles, scythes, knives, daggers, and shuriken  
buried in various trees and every single one of the practice dolls. She smiled,  
feeling some pride in being nearly flawless in her throwing skills already  
at that age.

The sound of running footsteps caught Tenten's attention and pulled her  
from her musings.

"Huh?"

Tenten whipped her head to her younger self. The younger woman was  
looking in the direction of where the footsteps were coming from.

The present Tenten followed the younger one's example.

Out from the trees came a boy. He was running on a small path that led  
it's way through the forest.

Tenten smiled fondly.

_I'd recognise THAT untamed hairstyle anywhere! _

"... Naruto?"

It seemed that her past self recognised him too.  
Said boy halted in mid-step and turned to her. The blonde bent his  
head to the side with a clueless look on his face.

Tenten smiled, she knew that look. He didn't recognise her...yet.

A small frown made way across the younger Naruto's face.

Tenten nodded. She knew that that was coming. He faintly remembered  
seeing her before and was trying to place her face with a name. He always  
did this whenever he was trying to remember a person he had met before.

Then it hit her.

_This is my and Naruto-kun's first meeting! Well, our first time talking  
to each other, anyway..._

She looked back and forth between her younger self and her boyfriend-to-be.

_Yeah, yeah! I remember now! _

"Ten...Ten?" The past Naruto said hesitantly.

"Now this is a surprise... You remember my name. Even though we've  
never really met before." The past Tenten stated.

Naruto agreed that it was strange. He looked her over once and then asked,

"What happened to you?"

Tenten just _had_ to laugh at that comment. That was Naruto for you. Clueless at  
just about everything that didn't have to do with fighting.

Her past self gestured behind her and Naruto noticed the numerous  
throwing-weapons scattered across the glade.

"Wow! You did all this!? Amazing! You must've been training here  
since God knows when in the morning! And damn, you've sure got a  
lot of weapons! Where do you keep all of those?" Naruto exclaimed  
cheerily, loudly, and with the energy of a child on sugar.

_Yes... This was the place we really officially "met". Back then, I had  
absolutely NO idea that he was the one that I would come to cherish  
the most... _

Tenten looked on as the past Naruto waved his arms around with a  
bright smile.

"Wow...! Hey, hey! What kinda amazing Ninjutsu is that? How does  
it work?" Naruto said excitedly.

"Why don't I show it to you?"

_Back then, I was surprised when he asked me about my technique.  
__It was the first time anyone had shown ANY interest in it.  
__Well, besides Neji of course... _

The past Tenten dropped down to the ground, the used scrolls landing  
in two piles beside her. She panted hard and wiped the sweat off  
her forehead.

"That was so cool!!!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran up to her.

"Glad you liked it." The brunette breathed before collapsing to the  
ground, now thoroughly spent.

_When he saw how I collapsed, he instantly asked me what was wrong.  
He looked so worried... _

Naruto quickly kneeled down beside her.

"Hey! Are you alright!?" Naruto asked, blue eyes filled with worry.

Tenten chuckled and rolled over onto her back.

"I'm alright. Just tired." She stated.

_And when I lay there to catch my breath, he stayed with me...  
I remember wondering why he did that so intensively I just HAD  
to ask... _

"Hey," Getting the boy's attention, she continued, "why are you  
sitting here like this with me? I mean, not that I dislike you being  
here or anything, but... I mean, you don't even know me."

Naruto seemed to contemplate this for a moment or two. Then he looked  
away from her and towards the sky.

"I don't really know. I just, you know, didn't feel like leaving."  
When Tenten raised a quizzial eyebrow, he continued. "Besides, do I really  
need a reason? Can't I hang out with people simply because I want to?"  
He said with a goofy laugh.

The brunette looked at the boy before her, her face displaying nothing  
but surprise.

_His answer left me so stumped I couldn't think of a single thing  
to say. Well, I really didn't need to, since... _

"Hey! I'm going to Ichiraku to eat breakfeast. Do you wanna come?"  
Naruto asked.

"Eh?"

Naruto grabbed her wrist and smiled, if possible, even brighter  
than before.

"Ah, come on! It'll be fun!" He exclaimed cheerily.

And before she could say a single word, Tenten was yanked onto  
her feet and had to run to keep up with the blonde.

"Hey! Don't just pull on my wrist like that! You could have sprained  
it or something!" Tenten shouted as she struggled to keep up.

Naruto turned to her with his everlasting smile.

"Ah, come on! Don't be such a worry-wart!" He said before turning  
his head and shouting, "Now let's go! Ichiraku Ramen! Here we come!!!"

Tenten stared at him in a mix of surprise and shock for a moment  
before sighing.

"And here I thought I could finally get _away _from crazy people! I escape  
from Lee and Gai-Sensei for one day and I run straight into their pseudo  
long-lost brother!" She muttered.

"Eh? Did you say something, Tenten?"

Sigh.

"Nothing, Naruto. Nothing at all."

She looked up at the sky. She knew by her experiences with Lee that  
trying to refuse offers from people like him was next to impossible.

"Why _me_, God?" She muttered in exparation.

The present Tenten watched them run down the path. She was smiling  
softly at them.

_Well, I certainly got THAT question answered for me! Not that I really  
believe in God or anything, but still..._

Just as she thought that, the surroundings changed again.

Tenten looked around and saw that she was back where she started,  
the glade in the forest. However, this time the scene playing out before  
her was different.

The past Tenten was standing before the grinning blonde.

"You what?" She asked, her surprise obvious.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and grinned.

"I said, do you wanna train with me?" He repeated.

Tenten arched an eyebrow.

"Why would you ask that?" She asked.

"Well, allthough I don't really mind training by myself, spending  
the whole day by beating the crap out of Shadow Replications does  
get really boring after a while. Plus, I'm not really sure if it's such  
a great training method..."

Tenten's face was the picture of sarcasm as she replied,

"Really?"

Naruto nodded, completely oblivious.

"Besides, you're in the same situation, right? You're training alone  
day out and day in too, right?" He reasoned.

_Even though beating the crap out of clones and practising your  
throwing-weapon skills are two very different things, he did have  
a point there. _

The brunette seemed to think it over for a minute.

"Sure, why not? But, I really don't see how we can train together,  
seeing as we use completely different training methods." Tenten said.

"Isn't that obvious? Your Riding Twin Dragons-whatever is  
really fast and hard to dodge, right?" Naruto started.

"_Rising_ Twin Dragons." Tenten corrected him.

"Right. Anyway, as I was saying... Your technique is really  
fast, and my Shadow Replication Technique makes me hard  
to hit. So? What do you think? Isn't it the greatest training method  
ever!?" Naruto exclaimed.

Tenten opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself.

_Once again, he had a point. _

"You know, you may just be right there. My Rising Twin Dragons  
IS fast, but it isn't as good as I would like it to be when facing off  
against moving targets. Allright then, Naruto! You've got yourself  
a deal!" Tenten said.

Naruto pumped his fist into the air.

"Allright! I'm the greatest!!!" He exclaimed.

Tenten brought out her two favourite scrolls.

"I'm interested in this training method, Naruto. You mind if I try it  
out right now?" She asked.

Naruto beat a fist into his palm.

"Oh yeah! Bring it on! I was just going to ask the same thing  
anyway!" He said confidently.

Tenten hesitated, she was confident in her ability to control the  
technique, but it could still be really dangerous.

"You sure you're ready, Naruto? I'm going to come at you  
with everything I've got!" She stated.

"Heh! I was BORN ready! Gimme your best shot!" Naruto challenged.

Tenten hesitated again.

"I won't pull any kunai on you!" She warned.

"Didn't you hear me?" Naruto said, his well-known self-confidence  
making it's grand appearance. "I said, gimme your best shot!!!"

"If you say so..." Tenten said, still unsure.

Naruto on the other hand, was not.

"Shadow Replication Technique!!!" He shouted and 15 copies  
of himself appeared.

Tenten frowned and set the scrolls on the ground. She did warn him...

"Rising Twin Dragons!!!"

_Always so confident... No matter what the situation,  
Naruto-kun NEVER loses his confidence or his belief  
in himself. _

And that fact didn't change as the rain of sharp projectiles showered  
down towards him. Naruto grinned confidently and reached into  
his item pouch. His clones did the same.

_Even when beaten, he... _

Tenten landed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She slowly  
walked towards the kneeling boy.

"Hey, you okay? I didn't hit anything vital, did I?" She asked  
in concern. When she didn't get an answer from him, she said,  
"You did really great with deflecting my weapons, Naruto.  
Allthough, a ninja should really be able to read underneath the underneath.  
Even though I admit, the strings attached to my weapons were  
a bit hard to see..."

Naruto put a hand on top of his knee, his body shaking.  
Tenten frowned in concern. She reached out to put a hand on  
his shoulder, but-

"... Again."

"Huh?" Tenten said with a raised eyebrow.

"... Do it again... That Riding Twin Dragons-thing of yours...  
Do it again...!" Naruto said and slowly stood up.

Tenten nearly face-faulted.

"Hah?"

"Do that trick of your again, Tenten...! I'll beat it this time...!"  
Naruto panted, head bowed.

Before she could say a word, he raised his head. "Don't act so  
worried about me, Tenten. I'm not a baby, you know. I'm allright.  
So go right ahead and do your Riding Twing Dragons! I'll definitely  
beat it this time!" Naruto said and beat his fist into his palm.

Tenten stared at him in disbelief.

"Naruto-"

"**I don't go back on my word, 'cause that's my way of the ninja**!"

Tenten looked at Naruto in wonder.

_That was the first time I came face-to-face with Naruto's  
extreme bullheadedness. And his way of the ninja. _

The surroundings changed once again.

Tenten watched as her younger self and Naruto met and talked,  
then the surroundings changed again and the two of them were training.

_As time passed by, we saw each other more and more. It came to the  
point where we talked to each other at least once a day.  
__We started to get to know each other better and better for each  
passing day.  
_  
"Heey!! Tenten!!!"

"Hey Naruto! Whow, slow down! Where's the fire?"

"You'll NEVER be able to guess what I just found out this  
morning at breakfeast!"

"Ichiraku has a 10 percent discount on everything."

"Ichiraku has got a 10 percent's discou- Hey! How the hell  
did you know that!?"

"I'm psychic."

"Yeah, and I'm a Cup Ramen in disguise. Seriously, how did  
you know that!?"

"Women's intuition."

"Tenteeeeen!!!"

"Alright, alright! It's nothing, really! I just put two and two  
together, that's all! You eat breakfeast at Ichiraku's every  
day, and you're obsessed with ramen. If you think that way,  
two plus two definitely equals four."

"Really? Well if you know about it, then what are we waiting  
for!? Let's go!"

"Eh? Hey!!! How many times do I have to tell you to  
STOP PULLING on my wrist!!!!"

"Quit yer whining and step on it!"

"As long as it gets my wrist out of your grasp..."

_It was strange, having just started to get to know him a few  
weeks ago, I was already growing fond of him. At times, he was  
just like the annoying little brother I never had... _

"Rising Twin-"

"HEY! TENTEN!!!!"

"Gah!?"

**Thump! **

"Hey, Tenten! Guess wha- Hey, why are you on the ground?  
And how come you've got that big lump on your head?"

"Come a little closer and ask again..."

"Huh? Like this?"

"Perfect."

**BAM! **

_And sometimes, he was the best friend I could ask for..._

"... You okay?"

Nod.

"... You sure?"

Nod.

"... Okay..."

"..."

"..."

"... You're not gonna tell me what happened, are you?"

Shake.

"... Okay..."

"..."

"..."

"... Here."

Blink.

"Go ahead, take it. I've got one more."

"...?"

"Yeah, I know, you don't like ramen much. But it usually  
cheers me up when I'm down."

"..."

"..."

"... Thanks..."

"... Don't mention it."

_The more time we spent together, the more I started to  
enjoy his company. _

"Oohhh maaaan...!" Tenten banged her head down on the  
wood before her.

"What's the matter, Tenten?" The pink haired kunoichi  
sitting next to her asked.

Tenten put her chin in her hand and sighed.

"You saw Naruto take off a few minutes ago, right Sakura?  
He had just had his lunch." She said without looking at her friend.

Sakura nodded and blew a little on her noodles before  
eating them.

"Yeah, so?" She asked after swallowing.

Tenten's brown eyes drifted to the pile of empty bowls.

"I don't know what he did, but somehow, I ended up paying  
for him!" She said and sighed, thinking about her now  
near-empty wallet.

"What? Naruto does that to you too!?"

Tenten turned her head with a raised eyebrow. Sakura had  
gone for another pack of noodles, but her hand had stopped  
before picking it up out of the bowl. She looked really  
surprised.

"What's with the look, Sakura?" Tenten asked.

Sakura shook her head and went back to her bowl.

"Nothing, I was just surprised..." She said quietly and  
blew on her noodles.

Tenten frowned in question, her curiosity rising.

"Why? Naruto does the same thing with you too, right?"  
She pointed out.

Sakura nodded, stirring the contents of her bowl.

"Yeah, but that's because he likes me." She said, a frown  
crossing her face.

"So? What's that got to do with this?" Tenten demanded,  
her curiosity growing towards it's peak.

Sakura blew on another pack of noodles.

"Well... I've spent a whole lot of time with Naruto because  
of him being in my team and everything, and there is one thing I  
can say for certain about him." She said and stirred her bowl again.

"Which is?" Tenten asked, her curiosity now having reached  
it's peak.

Sakura put down her chopsticks and turned to Tenten. She looked  
as if she was unsure about something, and at the same time surprised.

"The fact that Naruto ONLY does this with people he really likes."

Tenten's eyes widened. Whatever answer she had been expecting,  
that had not been one of them.

"I...see."

Sakura blinked. She tried to get eye-contact with her friend, but  
no matter what she did, she would not look up from the empty  
bowl before her. Nor would she remove her hand from her right  
cheek, which felt hot for some reason.

_And after that particular event at the ramen stand, I somehow  
found it hard to stay mad at Naruto for extended periods of time.  
Or complain too much when he dragged me to Ichiraku.  
_  
"Hey, what's wrong Tenten?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why aren't you saying anything? I mean, usually, you'd be screaming  
at me at the top of your lungs to let go of your wrist!"

"Oh... Well, I just figured that it was useless to argue, that's all.  
You would never let go no matter how much I complained, would you?"

"Err... Nope!"

"Thought so."

_It was strange at the time but... I really started to enjoy it whenever  
he grabbed my hand. And, for some reason, whenever he came by  
to see me, I always felt so...happy.  
I came to really like that goofy smile of his, especially when he  
directed it at me. It made me feel kinda...warm, inside. _

_It actually came to the point when I asked myself one morning if I  
was falling for him. But I just laughed the thought off and went off  
to train with Neji. It had been a while, after all. And that was the  
fatefull day, when Neji misread my movements and attacked... _

Neji came within 5 meters from her with no sign of stopping.

Tenten closed her eyes and raised her arms to take the hit. (This is going  
to hurt...!) Tenten thought. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and shut out  
all the other sounds around her. She shut her eyes tight and expected to  
feel pain.

But there wasn´t any.

Tenten waited one second, two, three... Then she opened her eyes slowly.  
They widened at the sight before her.

Neji was standing about 2 metres from her, his palm was pressing against  
orange fabric. He had a look of surprise on his face. And for a good reason.  
Standing 1 metre from Tenten, was a blonde boy.  
He was pressing his arm against Neji´s palm. Tenten just stared.

Her mouth fell open in surprise and shock. (N, Naruto-kun? W, where did  
he come from? W, why is he here?) Tenten wondered.  
Then her brain finally registered the position of the boy´s arm.  
(Naruto-kun, he...he _blocked_ Neji´s attack?) Tenten thought.

Naruto growled at Neji.

"Don´t you dare hurt her... Do you hear me? Don´t you DARE hurt her!!!" Naruto growled.

Tenten´s eyes widened. Did Naruto just defend her?

_I was shell-shocked! No one had ever even attempted to block one  
of Neji's strikes with their bare arms before! But that was Naruto  
for you, Konoha's Number 1 most surprising ninja.  
It was also the day when I realised that... The answer to the question  
I asked myself the very same morning... Was yes._

It's strange, how one's opinion of someone can change in the blink  
of an eye! Or...in a gesture... 

Tenten looked Naruto up and down. Her cheeks heated up and her  
heartbeat quickened. Then, their eyes locked. They lost all sense of  
time and place as they gazed into each other´s eyes. Tenten drowned  
in Naruto´s blue orbs. She couldn´t tear her eyes from his.  
Then before she knew it, he had crossed the distance between them  
and had her in his arms. He lowered his face and pressed his lips  
against Tenten´s. Her cheeks flushed crimson and her breathing sped up.  
Never before in her life had Tenten felt so alive than when Naruto  
kissed her. It was like she had been dreaming up untill now.  
Tenten lost her self-control and a burning passion took over.  
She placed her hands on the back of Naruto´s head and kissed him back,  
with passion. She ran her hands through his wild spiky hair.  
Naruto soon responded and their light kissing turned more passionate.

The present Tenten watched smilingly how her younger self bonded  
with the one who was to become her most loved one.  
Tenten brought a hand up to her heart.

_Yes... This is how I came to love Naruto-kun. Through all the  
confusion and irritation, I learned one thing. You can't choose  
who you are going to fall in love with. Ever. It just happens. _

Tenten turned around and looked up at the sky just as the surroundings  
changed and became whiter.

_That's right. I love Naruto-kun. With all my heart. No matter  
what happens, I will always love him. And nothing will ever  
change that! _Nothing!

A sudden thought then struck her.

_Why am I seeing all of this? I mean, I know it's a dream and all,  
but... I've never felt so awake when dreaming before... And, I've  
never been able to blink in a dream, or laugh and actually _feel  
_it in my stomach! _

As she pondered this, the surroundings changed. Before she realised  
it, she was back in the white area where she started.

She started floating higher and higher up towards a ceiling she  
couldn't see. Her eyes widened as the light above her became  
brighter and brighter and blinded her. But for some reason, she could not  
look away.

* * *

"... And that's what happened, Tsunade-obaachan." 

Tsunade slowly nodded as she contemplated the blushing  
boy's story.  
Naruto had just finished telling her in detail about what had  
happened last night. Well, maybe not _every _detail. Naruto had  
started to blush and stutter when he came to the part where him  
and Tenten went into her apartment and...

Tsunade had said to him, with a completely straight face,

"Ah, you two had sex. I see now. No wonder your hair looked  
more ruffled than usuall."

This had caused such blushing and stuttering from him that  
would have put Hinata to shame a few years ago.

Tsunade had finished up her diagnostic technique a little while ago  
and she had put Tenten on a couch a metre away from her desk.  
She was lying with her back to them.  
None of them noticed her arm twitch.

"I can't believe it... I'm really going to be a father! I found out about  
it over an hour ago and it still hasn't sunk in yet!" Naruto wisphered  
and looked down at his slightly shaking hand.

Tsunade chuckled.

"Most men doesn't really realise that their wives are pregnant before  
they start showing it." She said.

Naruto perked up.

"Hey, Tsunade-obaachan! You finished the diagnosis, didn't you?  
So? How-how was it? Is Tenten going to be alright!? Come on,  
tell me!" He said, growing more and more nervous.

"Maybe if you shut up, I will." It was funny, how fast Naruto could  
shut his mouth when he really wanted to. "Alright, Naruto. Listen.  
I've run every diagnostic technique I know on Tenten and can safely  
say that you are right. She is pregnant."

Naruto swallowed. Even though Kyuubi had told him, he hadn't really  
believed it. Now however, with Tsunade herself sitting before him,  
telling him the same thing, he believed it.

"However!" Tsunade barked, making Naruto almost jump out of  
his skin. "There were also some abnormalities."

Naruto clenched the fabric of his pants. He swallowed hard.

This could not be good.

"Ab-abnormalities...?" He stuttered, eyes wide with fear.

Tsunade put her hands under her chin and narrowed her eyes.

"The speed at which the embryo is attaching itself to Tenten's  
Chakra pathways is much higher than what is normal. I have seen  
many pregnancies, and I've never seen one like this. Aside from  
this, it is completely normal." Tsunade stated.

Naruto turned to glance at Tenten briefly before returning  
to Tsunade. He was very tense.

"But it's gonna be alright, right? Tenten and the child are going  
to be alright, right!? They're not going to get hurt or anything,  
right!!?" Naruto nearly shouted.

He was standing up now, staring at Tsunade with a nearly frantic  
look on his face. Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes.

"I don't know. It looks pretty much alright, but I need to take a look  
at your seal in order to make sure that your...tenant, doesn't have  
anything to do with this. We can not take any chances, Naruto."  
She stated.

Naruto had his jacket off and his shirt pulled up before Tsunade  
could blink.

"Then go ahead and check it already!!! Don't just sit there  
and sigh! We don't have all day, you know! What if this is something  
serious!?" Naruto shouted.

Tsunade frowned and shook her head.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Naruto." She said.

Naruto slammed his foot down on her desk and a strong  
crack was heard.

"And why the HELL not!!?" Naruto screamed furiously.

(Why the hell can't she just check the seal already!!? Why is she just  
sitting there stalling for!!? If Tenten ends up getting hurt because of her  
stalling, I swear...!) Naruto thought. He was getting more and more furious  
with each passing second. He was so worried about Tenten he couldn't  
take it!

"I've been around on the battlefield and in the hospital before you were  
even born, so I know my share of seals. But I'm no expert. And an expert is  
precisely what is needed here." Tsunade stated seriously.

"Then go ahead and-"

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!"

Naruto backed a step in sheer surprise. Tsunade slammed her hands down  
on her desk and nailed him down with a glare.

"I was just going to call him here! If you hadn't been so hot-headed, he  
would have already been here! So if it isn't too much to ask, be quiet and  
stay still for a minute while I go and call him!!!" Tsunade roared.

Naruto was down in the chair before he knew it himself.  
Tsunade sighed and walked around the desk.

"Don't worry, Naruto. What ever he says when he gets here, I will stand  
behind you and Tenten all the way. So cool your head a bit and stay put."  
She said softly and put her hand on his shoulder.

Naruto saw the sincerity in her eyes and relaxed. A bit.

Tsunade nodded and walked up to the door.

"I have a first-class urgent message to deliver!" She called.

The second she stopped talking, a masked man was kneeling before her.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" The ANBU said.

Tsunade bent down and wisphered something in his ear.  
The ANBU visibly flinched as she finished.

"You got all that? Good, then go!" Tsunade said and waved her arm.

The ANBU nodded and disappeared in a plume of smoke.  
Tsunade returned to her desk and sat down. Naruto followed her with  
his eyes all the way.

"The seal expert will be here soon." Tsunade said.

Naruto nodded and looked down.  
Tsunade blinked. She had never seen him like this before.  
His eyes were darting from left to right, his fingers were moving around  
as if he didn't know what to do with them, his knee was moving up and  
down, his toes were moving around even worse than his fingers, and he  
was starting to shake ever so slightly.  
(My god! He looks as though he's about to either have a nervous breakdown,  
or go stark raving mad!) Tsunade thought.

"Naruto." She flinched, before she had even finished calling  
his name, he was already looking at her.

Tsunade looked him over and her expression hardened. (What if his  
tenant has something to do with his fidgety state?) She wondered, her  
mind running over what that could mean. She did not like it.

"Have you been feeling okay recently? I mean, you haven't been  
dizzy, or had sudden mood-swings, or something like that?"  
Tsunade asked, her gaze hard.

Naruto was visibly confused by her question but he answered nonetheless.

"No, I've been fine. Why?" Naruto wondered.

"It was your tenant that first told you that Tenten was pregnant,  
was it not?" Tsunade asked, her voice carrying a hard edge.

Naruto nodded and glanced back at Tenten. She was still  
unconscious. But as he turned away from her, he failed to see the  
slight movement of her mouth.  
Tsunade lowered her head so that her hands covered her mouth.

"It might just be a bit of paranoia from my side but... What if it  
was your tenant that made Tenten pregnant? After all, he knew  
she was before you did, right?" Tsunade said.

Naruto flinched and put a hand on his stomach.

"W-what!? T-that's impossible! How can he have made Tenten  
pregnant!? I mean, he's...he's...!" Naruto said and stared down  
at his stomach.

"He is sealed inside of you." Naruto flinched again. "While I want  
to agree with you in that it is impossible for him to do anything to  
your child... I am afraid I can't. There are too many uncertain factors.  
After all, no one knows exactly how your seal works anymore, Naruto.  
The last two who knew are dead. That is why it is so crucial to  
let this seal specialist take a look at your seal in order to confirm  
that it isn't weakening or something like that." Tsunade stated  
gravely.

Naruto stared wide-eyed at his stomach. His mouth was slightly  
open and he was covered in a thin layer of cold-sweat.  
(Kyuubi...! If you have anything to do with this, I SWEAR I will tear  
you out of my stomach and then RIP you to tiny little pieces that even  
YOU won't be able to regenerate from!!!) Naruto swore.  
He looked up.

"If worse comes to worse, and it turns out that he did have something  
to do with this... Then I don't give a SHIT if he's Kyuubi, the  
strongest of the tailed demons! I'll-" Naruto raised his voice and-

"Kyuubi?"

Naruto froze. He became still as a statue.  
(No... No not now! Please don't wake up now...!) He thought.  
Naruto slowly turned, and his worst fears were confirmed.  
Sitting up on the couch, was a very awake Tenten. The young kunoichi  
looked like she had just recieved the shock of her life.

Which she had.

"Naruto-kun...you've...you've got the...the Kyuubi sealed in-inside  
of you? Is that really true?" Tenten asked, her face a mix of emotions.

"Tenten... I-" Naruto tried, but he was interrupted.

"It's true."

The teenagers both turned to the Fifth Hokage of Konoha.  
Tsunade was looking even more serious now than before.

"It is unfortunate that you heard that part. I was hoping to spare  
you from the grief of knowing." Tsunade stated.

Tenten fell back against the couch.

"Wait a second...! S-so it's true then? The Kyuubi didn't die then?  
Naruto-kun has got the...the Kyuubi sealed in him? Is this...is this  
really true?" Tenten asked slowly, her voice containing no emotions.

Tsunade kept looking at her, but otherwise did not move.  
Naruto looked to and from the two of them, his lips moving but no  
sound coming over them. He looked like a lost little child.  
Tenten's eyes widened.

"This has GOT to be some kind of a joke...! Na-Naruto-kun can't  
have...! He-he can't be...!" She said, her voice falling into  
wisphering.

Naruto stood up and took a step towards her and reached out  
his hand.

"Tenten... I-"

Tenten put her hand on her stomach.

"And...and I'm pregnant...! I'm...I'm pregnant...! And...and you have...!  
You are...! No... This, this just can't...!" She wisphered, her eyes  
wide with shock and disbelief.

She started to shake, her eyes filled with moisture.  
Naruto took another hesitant step towards her.

"Tenten... It's not what you think. I'm-"

"It's not what!? It's not true that I'm pregnant!? It's not true that you've  
got the Kyuubi sealed inside of you!? It's not true that you're...!  
That you're...!" Tenten stuttered, her eyes filled with a sudden fear.

Naruto flinched and took a step back, his hand and lower lip  
quivered. A strong wave of fear washed over him.

"Tenten, please! It's not...! I...! Don't...! Don't look at me  
like that!!!" Naruto yelled and shut his eyes tight and looked away.  
"Don't...! Don't look at me like I'm some kind of... _Monster_...!"  
His whole body was shaking now, tears spilled down his cheeks.  
"Please! Please don't look at me like that...! Please...! Don't...!  
Don't look at me with those, those cold eyes... Don't look at me with...  
with such...such _hate_! I-I can't handle that! Not you...! Not you too! I can't  
stand it! Not if you start hating me too!!!" Naruto said, more and more tears  
escaping down his cheeks as he backed another step.

He clenched his fists and grit his teeth. Ragged breaths betrayed sobs  
that held pain within them that ran deeper than the sea.

The pure pain in his voice was enough to bring Tenten slightly to her senses.  
She stared at him open-mouthed, unsure of what to say.  
Tenten felt completely lost. She felt like she didn't know a thing!  
She felt...tricked somehow, brought behind the light. She felt as if everything  
she had been told...everything she had believed during the last few years  
was all...was all just a...just a...

"Naruto...! Did you...? Did you lie to me...? All these years? Did you-"  
But Tenten didn't get further than that.

A sudden ear-splitting crash shocked them both half to death!

In the middle of the pieces that used to be a desk, stood the Fifth Hokage.  
Tsunade's brown eyes were colder than the coldest glacier. Her face was  
a mask of stone, and in it was an expression engraved, the kind that could  
make your enemies shit themselves.

And while it didn't have that particular effect on Naruto and Tenten,  
it did serve it's purpose by shocking the shit out of them.  
In other words, giving their undivided attention to her.

"Naruto... Did NOT lie to you, Tenten. Everything he has told you has  
been nothing but the truth. I can say this because I trust Naruto completely,  
with my life. And if you think, even for ONE single SECOND, that Naruto  
is the Kyuubi, then you're as far off from the truth as I would be if I told you  
I had invited Orochimaru over for a cup of tea!"

Tsunade slowly, and not completely un-intimidatingly, made her way  
over to them. Her green gamble jacket fluttered around her and her ponytails  
seemed to slightly float. Naruto and Tenten swallowed.  
The Chakra that was coming from her was everything BUT small!

"Listen good and listen well, Tenten...! 'Cause I am going to tell you  
everything. From the day the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, up to this very day!"  
Tsunade stated, there being nothing but seriousness in her voice.  
"When the Kyuubi attacked on that fatefull day, we were literally powerless  
to stop it. The beast shook off our attacks like they were nothing. Which I  
suspect they were to the beast! The Kyuubi would have completely obliderated  
Konoha, had it not been for that one man." Tsunade said and glanced up at  
one of the photos hanging on the wall. "The Yondaime came and killed the  
Kyuubi. Well, that's what you've been told. Isn't that right, Tenten?"

Tenten could only nod. Tsunade nodded too.

"Well you can forget about that! That's nothing more but a big fat lie!  
What really happened...is this.  
The Yondaime fought the Kyuubi with all his power, but even he was  
unable to stop the beast. And that's saying something, seeing as the  
Yondaime was probably the strongest ninja in the world at the time.  
In the end, he had no choice. Yondaime sacrificed himself in order to use  
an extremely powerfull forbidden technique, in order to seal the Kyuubi  
away. And where do you think he chose to seal the beast?" Tsunade said,  
looking at the young ninjas before her, one at a time.

"He sealed him in a child that had just had it's umbilical cord cut and  
was still bleeding from it! Now, we arrive at an extremely interesting  
question. Who, do you think, was that child? Yes. It was none other than  
Uzumaki Naruto."

Tenten gasped and her eyes widened even more than before.  
Naruto opened and closed his mouth a few times before looking down  
at the floor.

There. It was out in the open. His biggest secret was revealed.

Tsunade fixed her gaze on Tenten, who had fallen back into the couch.  
The brunette opened and closed her mouth like a fish and made a few  
stuttering noises, but no real words.  
Tsunade sighed and put a hand on her hip.

"Tenten, I know it is a lot to take in at once. But, before you start doing  
that, let me ask you one thing. Has Naruto ever, and I really do mean  
EVER, hurt you before? Has he ever been anything but caring towards you?"  
Tsunade asked.

Tenten looked up at her for a few seconds before looking down at  
her hands. She bit her lip as she contemplated her question.  
Memories of her and Naruto's time together, both before and after they  
got together, flashed by before her eyes. With each passing memory,  
Tenten grew more and more sure. Besides her growing certainty, there was  
another thought gnawing at her in the back of her head. A vague memory  
of something...a dream. Even though she could not recall what the dream had  
been about, she was sure that it had been something really important.

After a few agonising minutes, Tenten raised her head.  
Naruto stood in the same position, hands hanging by his sides and  
head hung low.

"Well? Have you made up your mind?" Tsunade asked, her firm gaze  
back on Tenten.

The brown haired kunoichi nodded. She stood up and made her way,  
step by step, over to Naruto.  
The blonde heard her and tensed up in preparation for the screaming he  
knew was coming.  
His eyes snapped wide open as he felt arms snake themselves around  
his waist!

"Look at you, you poor idiot...! You're shaking worse than a leaf on  
a tree that has been caught in a storm!" Came a soft voice by his ear.

Naruto shivered. What was she...?

"Ten...Ten? Wh-what are you doing? Aren't you...aren't you mad  
at me?"

The arms tightened their grip.

"... Don't be stupid. Of course I'm mad at you!"

Naruto tensed up. (I KNEW it...!) He thought in agony.

Wind blew across his ear as a chuckle was heard.

"I'm mad at you, alright. I'm mad at you for not telling me the truth!"

Naruto turned around and raised his hands, which were shaking.  
Tenten was _smiling_! She was actually smiling! Her brown eyes filled  
with tears as she softly punched him in the chest.

"Tenten...? Why are you...? Don't you... Don't you... Don't you hate me?"  
Naruto asked, his voice cracking.

Dared he hope...? Dared he believe...?  
Tenten started to silently hiccup. Then she threw herself into his arms!

"How... How the _hell_ can I hate you, Naruto-kun? Especially when you've  
got that...that _stupid _look on your face! After... After all the time we've  
spent together...! How the HELL do you expect me to hate you!?" Tenten said,  
tears spilling down her cheeks.

Naruto's eyes widened, then they filled up with moisture, which promptly  
escaped. He hiccuped once, then he slung his arms around Tenten and hugged  
her to him with all the strength he had in him!

Tsunade watched with a content smile as the young couple broke down  
and started crying.

Tenten grabbed fistfulls of Naruto's black shirt while he did the same with  
her pink top. Tenten cried into Naruto's shoulder as he let his tears spill on  
the top of her head.

"So... So you don't think that I'm... Just the Kyuubi reborn!? You... You're not  
going to leave me...because of the Kyuubi!?" Naruto sobbed.

Tenten chuckled through her tears.

"Of course I don't think that! And of course I won't leave you! You're still...my  
beloved Naruto-kun! I love you...! You big oaf! And nothing...nothing can ever  
change that! Do you hear me!? Uzumaki Naruto!?" She shouted through her crying.

Naruto laughed as the tears ran down his cheeks. He hugged her to him and just  
laughed. Tenten started laughing too.

(The tension is breaking... It must have been so hard for him when Tenten  
almost called him Kyuubi... But luckily, the idiot has managed to find someone  
who loves him unconditionally...) Tsunade thought as she watched the pair.  
She smiled. (I'm so happy for you, Naruto.)

"Well! Aren't you the lovely couple! Hugging all closely and such!  
I must say I'm proud of you, brat!"

Naruto turned and looked over his shoulder, as did Tenten.

There, standing in the doorway, with a wide grin on his face, was none other than-

"ERO-SENNIN!!?"

* * *

Yes! There it was! My blood, sweat, and tears! Well, from a time, anyway...  
I understand if you're mad at me, believe me, I am too. It wasn't untill I recieved the last  
few reviews that I FINALLY got off my lazy ass and did something!  
I will now sincerely try to not leave you hanging too long this time! 

And with that cleared up, please tell me what you thought of the chapter!  
And no flames, thank you. If it isn't constructive criticism!

Thank you, and goodbye!


End file.
